Tom Rush (born on February 8, 1941, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) is a noted folk and blues singer, songwriter and recording artist.
Background
Rush's father was a teacher at St. Paul's School, in Concord, New Hampshire. Tom began performing in 1961 while studying at Harvard University. He majored in English literature. Many of his early recordings are versions of Lowland Scots and Appalachian folk songs. He regularly performed at the Club 47 coffeehouse (now called Club Passim) in Cambridge and the Unicorn in Boston.
Rush is credited by Rolling Stone magazine with ushering in the era of the singer/songwriter. In addition to performing his own compositions, he covered songs by Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Murray McLauchlan and David Wiffen, helping them to gain recognition early in their careers.
Bob Dylan is reputed to be the "Roosevelt Gook" credited as playing piano on the 1966 Elektra album Take A Little Walk With Me, though many believe it was Al Kooper under another name to collect a second musician's fee.
His 1968 composition "No Regrets" has become an acknowledged standard, with numerous cover versions having been recorded (Rush did two radically different versions himself). These include The Walker Brothers, who gave Tom Rush a belated Top Ten exposure as a songwriter on the UK singles chart.
A video of his performance of Steven Walters' "The Remember Song" was placed on YouTube and to date (April 2009) it has received over 3.8 million plays. Writing on his website, Rush said "I've been waiting 45 years to be an overnight sensation, and it's finally happened! A video clip of my performance of "The Remember Song" has 'gone viral.' I felt terrible at first, thinking I was being accused of being a musical equivalent of Ebola, but my children explained to me that this was a good thing."
Tom Rush is married to the author Renée Askins.
Discography
External links
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